Albums to watch

The Don Of Diamond Dreams

Shabazz Palaces

The Don Of Diamond Dreams

Fifth album from the Seattle experimental hip-hop collective led by Ishmael Butler

ADM rating[?]

7.1

Label
Sub Pop
UK Release date
17/04/2020
US Release date
17/04/2020
  1. 8.0 |   Clash

    A glorious album that yields more and more with each listen. And listen you need to, because if you don’t you might miss something
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  2. 8.0 |   The Line Of Best Fit

    Butler’s grit is beyond impressive here, but while it’s not surprising the distance he’s willing go to create a moment, it’s rather what he uncovers while he’s there
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  3. 8.0 |   Spectrum Culture

    Despite being so inviting, though, The Don feels like an insular world that you’re allowed to glimpse inside
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  4. 8.0 |   Loud And Quiet

    The Don of Diamond Dreams push further out into cosmic sounds feels like a retort to ‘90s boom-bap traditionalists who rip on changing fashions out of bitterness
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  5. 8.0 |   The Irish Times

    A weird and often wonderful album that reasserts what anyone paying attention already knew: after all these years, Butler is still daring rap bohemian who must be protected at all costs
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  6. 8.0 |   The Quietus

    While there was a sense of dismay running through those at a reality that was beginning to fracture, The Don Of Diamond Dreams feels imbued with a sense that alternative realities – different ways of telling stories, different mythologies to reflect our true nature – are always within our reach, if only we’re able to fully embrace our own imaginations
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  7. 7.6 |   Pitchfork

    Ishmael Butler, the MC of the futurist hip-hop duo, looks in a new direction for inspiration on his latest project: his own son, emo rapper Lil Tracy
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  8. 7.0 |   All Music

    Compared to SP's conceptual third and fourth LPs, which arrived together in 2017, The Don of Diamond Dreams is unified by its funkier and humanized sonics more than its lyrics
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  9. 7.0 |   Gigwise

    Still pushing their own boundaries
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  10. 6.9 |   Paste Magazine

    Diamond Dreams threatens to be Shabazz Palaces’ funkiest album, but it also turns out to be the group’s most uneven
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  11. 6.0 |   Beats Per Minute

    It falters by displaying another sort of self-awareness: wanting to be laid back and fun while also proving it’s being made by people who care about Real Art
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  12. 6.0 |   The Guardian

    Divided between familiar territories and intangible unknowns, Ishmael Butler proves fascinatingly elusive on this uneven record
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  13. 5.0 |   musicOMH

    A more radical shift in that direction might prove fruitful, but sadly The Don Of Diamond Dreams feels like aimless indulgence from a group that are capable of much better
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